Blue Lagoon, Grindavik Iceland

Island is the least populated country in Europe with an average of 3 inhabitants per square kilometer. Almost 4/5 of the country is uninhabited and most of the 300,000 Icelanders are settled along the coast. Their coast is full of fjords, and most of the cities are situated there, because the rest of it is cold and inhospitable desert. More than half of these 300,000 people in live in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital which is, among other things, the northernmost capital of the world.

The most visited tourist attraction is geothermal spa that is always been called the Blue Lagoon. Centuries of volcanic formations are the main reason for the emergence of this wonderful spa center situated on a peninsula in Reykjavik Grindavik valley, known as a lava field. It has been designed by accident, when local residents have noted that waste water from the Svartsengi geothermal power plant fills fields that are been formed for thousands of years by lava has a curative effect on their skin, and so little by little, wastewater was turned into a world-famous spa.

Water is discharged with a temperature of about 37-39 ° C from the power plant , full of sea salt, blue green algae, sulfur and white silicon (and many other minerals), and through various processes it is further cleansed of bacteria, before finishing in pools.

Situated only 39 kilometers from the capital of Iceland, the complex gets some captivating comments, and it has become known for the satellite imagery that it clearly recognized due to the colors and contours of water vapor.

The warm thermal water is rich in minerals, mostly silicon and sulfur, while the Icelandic “blue spot” has become known for treatment of skin diseases and in particular psoriasis. The water temperature in parts of the complex where tourists bathe is around 39 ° C. Next to the Blue Lagoon Iceland recently opened a large medical research to find a cure for various dermatological diseases with the help of mineral water. Otherwise, pools where tourists bathe are filled with water once every two days, thanks to the nearby power station turbines, which, among other things, provide heating to surrounding areas.

Strict rules require from tourists to take mandatory shower before and after swimming in the pools of the city. During June this azure water suddenly turns green, and the tourists come in large numbers to have a bath just because of this natural phenomenon. Iceland lagoon enjoyment was several times featured in famous TV shows, especially in the famous reality-game show The Amazing Race, and it was a part of the movie Hostel in second part. Popular fashion magazine Vogue used these landscapes several times for the creation of the legendary photo-editorials.